Piano Lessons in Las Cruces, NM

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Mandolin Lute Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
Normally I practice anywhere from 4-6 hours per day, depending on the day. Prior to practicing I do a few stretches to help relax my entire body. Then I look over the music before even touching my instrument and count the rhythms of each voice aloud. Then I sing the voices in my head or aloud. After that I take a note of how I expect the phrasing of the passage to be and identify areas where the technique might be difficult. Then I begin working out fingerings for each measure and practice it very slowly to train my muscle memory for the passage. Then I turn on the metronome and begin working with it to ensure that I am playing everything rhythmically accurate. Once all that is done for the entire piece I begin working sections of the piece slowly and with the metronome until it's committed to memory. Then I play the piece slowly without the metronome and speed it up to rhythm. After each "performance" I look back to the music and figure out where I stumbled, or what I want to be clearer, or anything of that like.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
There is a myriad of techniques that are very difficult to master, things like tremolo, cross string trills, artificial harmonics, tambora, tremolo rasgueado, and etc. But the largest hurdle I see most guitarists struggle with is the "Barre" a technique in which the performer holds many strings down with the index finger. I've seen many fail to learn it, and I've seen many play it incorrectly. Personally it took me a long time to get used to the technique, but I have a surefire way of teaching it so that the student will master it in no time!

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
I recommend two of them: Scott Tennant's "Pumping Nylon" and Pepe Romero's "La Guitarra". These are not necessary at all to begin lessons at any level. I can supply free resources that are great for learning. Mauro Giuliani's Right Hand Studies, and etudes by Matteo Carcassi and Fernando Sor.

What musical accomplishments are you most proud of?
Aside from my many performances with Pepe Romero, my big accomplishments personally are having performed many of my arrangements of famous piano pieces for guitar. I've arranged something like 300 pages of music for guitar ensembles, solo guitar, guitar and piano, guitar and violin and etc.

Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
To be completely honest, I have not had many students. The one student I did have for a few months moved on to play in several church bands and continues to play and love the guitar to this day.

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
Before I made the switch to classical guitar, I played a lot of acoustic guitar -- mostly folk. Then I heard a music video by a guitarist named Michael Lucarelli on youtube, and decided that I needed to learn how to play that kind of guitar. I searched all over Louisiana looking for a teacher that could help me in learning this gorgeous music, but very few had any inkling of how to play. That's when I discovered Mr.Patrick Kerber, who is a true master of the instrument and he helped me immensely.

Read More